19 Livestock Census-2012: Key Facts
Agriculture and Allied Sector contributed approximately 18% of GDP at 2011-12 prices. Of this, one third (6.6%) share is of the allied sector which includes Livestock, Forestry & Logging and Fisheries. We begin our study by taking a look at the latest livestock data available.
Key points from 19 Livestock Census-2012
Livestock Census is done every five years since 1919. Last Livestock census (19th) was done in 2012 and next one (20th) is to be done in 2017. The official report is located here. Key facts are enumerated below:
- India’s Livestock Census covers the animals viz. Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Horses & Ponies, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, Mithun and Yak. Their total number crosses 512 million. Further, Dogs, Rabbits and Elephants are also covered.
- India’s three largest states with highest livestock population are Uttar Pradesh; Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana). Three largest states with maximum poultry population are Andhra Pradesh (and Telangana), Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
- Bovine population refers to the population of Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak. This stands at 299 million. Out of them, Cows and Buffaloes are called milch animals. Cattle include cows, calves and bulls. Cattle accounts for 37.28% of India’s total livestock population; while buffalo accounts for 21.23%. Thus, there are more cattle than buffaloes. On the other hand, there are more goats than sheep. While goat contributes 26.40%, sheep contributes 12.71% of total livestock population. Pigs and others account for remaining 2%.
Some other notable trivia are as follows:
- Camel has a small fraction (0.08%) population in India. It is found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Bihar.
- The population of Mithun and Yak is slightly less than Camel (0.07%). Mithuns are mainly found in Arunachal Pradesh (maximum), Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh. Yaks are found mainly in Jammu & Kashmir (Maximum), Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.
- Poultry consists of generally three categories namely Fowls, Ducks and Turkey & others. Of this, 95% share is of fowls.